Peggy Cross-Goldenberg Perhaps you’ve wondered whether the Second Circuit would ever throw out a conviction because of inadequate voir dire in selecting the jury. Wonder no more. It’s finally happened. In United States v. Nieves, — F.4th —-, 2023 WL 405354 (2d Cir. Jan. 26, 2023), the defendant, a former gang member, challenged his conviction, following a jury trial, … Read more
The White House announced yesterday that President Biden would grant “full, complete, and unconditional” pardons to U.S. citizens and lawful residents previously convicted of simple possession of marijuana under 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) and D.C. Code 48-904.01(d)(1). The move is intended to “help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions,” and will doubtless help … Read more
In United States v. Tabb, __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 573379 (2d Cir. Feb. 6, 2020), the Court of Appeals held that New York’s attempted assault in the second degree with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument qualifies as a crime of violence under the force clause. The Court had previously held, in Singh v. … Read more
In United States v. DiMartino, __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 550475 (Feb. 4, 2020) (Jacobs, Sack, Hall), the Circuit affirmed the denial of a post-trial motion for a competency hearing based on the defendant’s persistent adherence to the “Sovereign Citizen” theory that the IRS and Justice Department are private corporations, the tax laws are invalid, … Read more
In United States v. Smith, __ F.3d __ , 2020 WL 521612 (Feb. 3, 2020) (Wesley, Chin, Sullivan), the Court of Appeals held that no Statement of Reasons (“SOR”) need be filed for a sentence imposed in a VOSR, even if it is above the Guidelines range, because the Sentencing Commission has not provided an … Read more
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General released a report on the electrical fire and ensuing power outage at the MDC Brooklyn last winter. You can access the report here. There were significant heating issues at the MDC, but these were unrelated to the fire. Turns out, there are “long-standing temperature regulation issues,” which … Read more
What is a “high-crime area” and what does that mean? It turns out, everything and nothing. And race has a lot to do with it. Professors Ben Grunwald, of Duke, and Jeffrey Fagan, of Columbia, examined two million NYPD stops from 2007-2012 and find that NYPD officers “call almost every block in the city high … Read more
In Flowers v. Mississippi, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that death-row inmate Curtis Flowers’ criminal trial was affected by racial discrimination. You can read more about the case here. Georgetown Professors Abbe Smith and Vida Johnson of Georgetown Law’s Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic, two career criminal defense attorneys, have recorded a video exploring the … Read more
In United States v. Evans, the Second Circuit upheld a sentence imposed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(2)(B), the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”). As the Court described it, the case presented “the latest entry in a series of cases defining offenses that qualify as ‘violent felonies’” for the purposes of ACCA’s sentencing enhancement. The Court … Read more
The Second Circuit today vacated a special condition of supervised release and remanded for further proceedings. In United States v. Smith, which you can read here, the Circuit relied on its recent decision in United States v. Betts, 886 F.3d 198, 202 (2d Cir. 2018). In Betts, the Court held that “A District Court is … Read more